Shelby County Alabama Index

Montevallo Alabama History

Montevallo, AL Post Office “Early Settlers Weighing Cotton” by William S. McCall (1939) – oil on canvas photograph taken by Wayne Waldrup, OIC Many thanks to Jimmy Emerson who contributed the photograph!

Montevallo, Alabama is a city in Shelby County, Alabama. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with around 3000 students.

The area where Montevallo is now was once controlled by the Creek Indians. After being acquired in 1814 Jesse Wilson claimed a small hill on the northern bank of the Shoal Creek and created a homestead there, making it the oldest settlement in Shelby County. Wilson’s friends and family followed afterwards and also settled in the area, and a settlement known as Wilson’s Hill developed on the site. The settlement’s location at almost the exact center of Alabama meant it was considered one of the potential sites for the University of Alabama. In an attempt to encourage the university to choose the site the settlement changed its name to Montevallo, which is Italian for the hill in the valley.

Montevallo is located at 33°6′18″N 86°51′46″W (33.104927, -86.862817). A plaque on Reynolds Cemetery Road, just off highway 25, in the eastern corner of the town, marks the geographic center of the state of Alabama. Middle Street, formerly known as Main Street, had its name changed in 1899 for this reason, upon the completion of a new state survey.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.7 square miles, of which, 7.6 square miles of it is land and 0.1 square miles of it (0.66%) is water.

Montevallo Alabama Map

^{Wikipedia contributors, “Montevallo, Alabama,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Montevallo,_Alabama&oldid=621653271 (accessed September 1, 2014).}

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Columbiana is a city in Shelby County, Alabama and is the county seat of Shelby County.Columbiana, originally called Columbia, was selected as the county seat of Shelby County in 1826 over rivals Calera and Montevallo. An act of the Alabama Legislature officially changed the name of Shelby County’s county seat to Columbiana on January 13, 1832. Columbiana was incorporated on December 5, 1837 with corporate limits one-quarter of a mile in each direction from the public square.

Today, Columbiana is home to the Shelby County Board of Education, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Shelby County Jail, and Harrison Regional Library, which is the main office for the Shelby County Library System. Columbiana holds the annual Liberty Day celebration on the last weekend in June, which was first held in 1986 to honor the 100th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty.

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Shelby County Alabama Map

Shelby County Alabama is located near the geographic center of the state of Alabama. The county seat of Shelby County is Columbiana Alabama. The county is named in honor of Isaac Shelby, Governor of Kentucky from 1792 to 1796 and again from 1812 to 1816.

Shelby County Alabama History:

The original county boundaries encompassed lands acquired from the Creek Indians in the 1814 Treaty of Fort Jackson following their defeat at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.

The first towns in the Cahaba Valley were Wilson’s Hill (now Montevallo) and Shelbyville (now Pelham). People also began settling the Coosa Valley, particularly in the vicinity of Bigs Springs (now Harpersville) and Wilsonville.

Shelby County Alabama Cities:

Alabaster, Alabama

Alabaster is a city and southern suburb of Birmingham in Shelby County, Alabama. According to the 2013 Census Estimates, the city had a population of 31,342. Alabaster is the 16th largest city in Alabama by number of residents.

Birmingham, Alabama

Calera, Alabama

Calera is located in southern Shelby County. The city limits extend southward into Chilton County along U.S. Route 31, the main highway through the city. Interstate 65 passes through the eastern side of the city. Calera is the location of the Shelby County Airport. As of the 2010 census the population has 11,620 residents making it the fastest-growing city in Alabama. It is within the Birmingham-Hoover, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Chelsea, Alabama

Chelsea is a city in Shelby County. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area. At the  2010 population for Chelsea was 10,183. Its seasonal campsite for visitors is Hargis Retreat. Chelsea is widely considered the fastest growing city in Shelby County, which is the fastest growing county in the state of Alabama.

Columbiana, Alabama

Columbiana is a city in Shelby County. At the 2010 census the population was 4,197. The city is the county seat of Shelby County. Columbiana is home to the Shelby County Board of Education, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office, the Shelby County Jail, and Harrison Regional Library, which is the main office for the Shelby County Library System.

Helena, Alabama

Helena is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties. Helena is considered a suburb of Birmingham and part of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,793. The Cahaba River and its tributary Buck Creek run through Helena. Buck Creek is dammed upstream of Alabama State Route 261 in the Old Town area to form Lake Davidson, which was used for recreation and water wheel power at the turn of the 20th century. Fishing, wading, and canoeing are popular uses of both waterways.Helena sits at the foothills of the very southern extent of the Appalachian Mountains as they descend into the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain. The area is largely rolling hills with numerous small streams, and undeveloped areas are primarily mixed woodlands.

Hoover, Alabama

Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in north central Alabama. The largest suburb near Birmingham, the city had a population of 84,848 as of the 2015 US Census estimate. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area and is also included in the Birmingham-Hoover-Talladega, AL Combined Statistical Area. Hoover’s territory is along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

Leeds, Alabama

Leeds is a tri-county municipality located in Jefferson, St. Clair, and Shelby counties in the State of Alabama and is an eastern suburb of Birmingham. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 11,773. Leeds has existed along the banks of the Little Cahaba River; beside an historic stagecoach route; and along two large railroads for the greater part of American History. The tale of John Henry was believed to have originated in Leeds. In this folk story, John Henry, the “steel-drivin’ man”, raced and won against a steam engine in the laying of railroad that penetrated the Oak Mountain Tunnel in Leeds.

Montevallo, Alabama

Montevallo is a city in Shelby County. A college town, it is the home of the University of Montevallo, a public liberal arts university with approximately 3,000 students. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city of Montevallo is 6,323. The area where Montevallo is now was once controlled by the Creek Indians. After being acquired in 1814 Jesse Wilson claimed a small hill on the northern bank of the Shoal Creek and created a homestead there, making it the oldest settlement in Shelby County. Wilson’s friends and family followed afterwards and also settled in the area, and a settlement known as Wilson’s Hill developed on the site. The settlement’s location at almost the exact center of Alabama meant it was considered one of the potential sites for the University of Alabama. In an attempt to encourage the university to choose the site the settlement changed its name to Montevallo, which is Italian for the hill in the valley.

Pelham, Alabama

Pelham is a city in Shelby County, Alabama. It incorporated in July 1964. At the 2010 census the population was 21,352.  The first settlement located at the present site of Pelham, established in 1820, was named Shelbyville; it served as the location of the first county courthouse until Columbiana was named county seat in 1826. The town was renamed Pelham in 1867 after Civil War hero Major John Pelham, who reportedly camped overnight with his troops near Shelbyville during the war. T

You will enjoy taking a few minutes to read the superb Wikipedia article on John Pelhan, The Gallant Pelham.

Vestavia Hills, Alabama

Vestavia Hills is a city in Jefferson and Shelby counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is a suburb of the city of Birmingham. As of the 2010 census, its population was 34,033.

Vincent, Alabama

Vincent, originally known as Propel or Propel, is a city in Shelby, St. Clair, and Talladega counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2010 census the population was 1,988. The community was first known as Propel, but later named Vincent in honor of the Vincent family, who were early settlers of the area. It was incorporated in 1897.

Shelby County Alabama Towns:

Harpersville, Alabama

Harpersville is a town in Shelby County, Alabama. Harpersville was settled just after the War of 1812 ended. It was originally called Big Springs. According to the 1950 U.S. Census, it formally incorporated in 1943.  At the 2010 census, the population was 1,637, up from 1,620 in 2000. It is located southeast of Birmingham metro area.

Indian Springs Village, Alabama

Indian Springs Village (often simply called Indian Springs) is a town in Shelby County, Alabama, in the Birmingham metropolitan area. It incorporated effective November 14, 1990. At the 2010 census the population was 2,363.

Westover, Alabama

Westover is a city in Shelby County, Alabama. It was officially incorporated on January 31, 2001 although it was established in 1901 and had a population of 961 when it was incorporated in 2001.

Wilsonville, Alabama

Wilsonville is a town in southeastern Shelby County, Alabama, located northeast of Columbiana. At the 2010 census the population was 1,867. Wilsonville is named after the earliest settler in the area, Elisha Wilson.

The town was incorporated in 1897. 3 years later in 1900, it had the distinction of being the largest community in Shelby County with 1,095, edging out the county seat of Columbiana by 20 people. It lost the distinction to Columbiana in 1910 and would not exceed its 1900 population again until 1990.

Wilton, Alabama

Wilton, also known by the previous names of Birmingham Junction, Bismark, and Catoosa, is a town in Shelby County, Alabama. It incorporated in 1918. This town is part of the Birmingham–Hoover–Cullman Combined Statistical Area. At the 2010 census the population was 687, up from 580 in 2000.

Shelby County Alabama Communities:

Aldrich, Alabama

Arkwright, Alabama

Calcis, Alabama

Cloverdale, Alabama

Fourmile, Alabama

Inverness, Alabama

Maylene Alabama

Maylene is an unincorporated community in Shelby County. While the community was once unincorporated, it is now part of southern Alabaster, Alabama. Maylene zipcode is 35114. One site in Maylene, the Meredith-McLaughlin House (McLaughlin Farm), is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.

Pea Ridge, Alabama

Saginaw, Alabama

Siluria Alabama

Shelby County Alabama Designated Places:

Brantleyville, Alabama

Brook Highland, Alabama

Dunnavant, Alabama

Highland Lakes, Alabama

Meadowbrook, Alabama

Shelby, Alabama

Shoal Creek, Alabama

Sterrett, Alabama

Vandiver Alabama

Shelby County Schools

410 East College Street
P.O. Box 1910
Columbiana, AL 35051

Main Office: 205-682-7000
Fax:205-682-7005

• • Shelby County Schools operates public schools in the county. Alabaster City Schools operates the six public schools in Alabaster. In 2014, Pelham began operating their own school system with three schools taken over from the Shelby County School System: Pelham High School, Riverchase Middle School, and Valley Elementary School. Pelham Ridge Elementary School opened during the 2016-2017 school year. Valley Elementary School closed and teachers relocated to Valley Intermediate School, renamed Pelham Oaks Elementary School (now serving kindergarten through fifth grade).

  • Shelby County School News

    Shelby County Things To Do & Places To See

    Aldrich Coal Mine Museum

American Village

Cahaba River Wildlife Management Area

Colonial Promenade Alabaster

Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum

Oak Mountain Amphitheatre

Oak Mountain State Park

Old Shelby County Courthouse and Museum

Shelby Iron Works Park

Shelby County Alabama Weblinks 

Shelby County Alabama Official website

City-Data for Shelby County Alabama
Shelby County Web Portal
Shelby County 9-1-1 System
Shelby County article, Encyclopedia of Alabama
Shelby County Republican Party
Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce
South Shelby Chamber of Commerce
Shelby County Extension Office
Shelby County Economic & Industrial Development Authority
The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham

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